DS: InEqualities

Question:




Solution:

First, the question asks: is |x - z| + |x| = |z|. I find this easiest to think about if I understand what the equation says about distances. Remember that |a - b| is just the distance between a and b on the number line, and |a| is the distance from a to zero. So |x - z| + |x| = |z| just says "the distance between x and z plus the distance from x to zero is equal to the distance from z to zero". How can this happen? Draw a number line, try placing x and z in different orders and on either side of zero, and you can see that this can only happen in two ways:

z < x < 0
0 < x < z

So the question is just asking- can we be sure that one of the above inequalities is true?

Before looking at the statements, we know that zy < xy < 0. What does this tell us?

-Either y is negative, and both x and z are positive, or y is positive, and both x and z are negative.

-Because zy - xy <> x. If y is positive, z-x must be negative, and z < x (and, conversely, if z < x, y must be positive).

Okay, that was the tough part. Let's look at the statements:
1) z < x

If z < x, we know that y must be positive. If y is positive, x and z are both negative. So we know that z < x <0, and the answer to the question must be yes.

2) y > 0

If y is positive, well, this is exactly the same situation as we had with Statement 1.

Answer is D.

Link: http://www.beatthegmat.com/gmat-prep-t13180.html

SC: Griffith's cameraman Blitzer

Griffith's cameraman Blitzer was a mechanical wizard, and what skill was lacking in his visual composition was more than compensated by his ability to combine gadgets and props to produce the required cinematic effects.
(A) what skill was lacking in his visual composition was more than compensated by
(B) what skills he was lacking in visual composition, he more than compensated for in
(C) whatever his visual composition lacked, he more than compensated in
(D) whatever skills he lacked in visual composition, he more than compensated for by
(E) he more than compensated his lack of visual composition with

Solution:-

A) --> "Compensated By" -> Incorrect Idiom
B) --> "Compensated for" -> Correct Idiom. So it is CORRECT CHOICE
C) --> Altered Meaning. He lacked the skill of visual composition, not his visual composition lacked any skills.
D) --> Sounds good but "for by" is pinching to me.
E) --> [Though I am not still sure about the reason of omitting this option] trying to compare two different things. "Lack of visual composition" is not something that we can compare with his ability. I guess, it should be treated as "flaw" rather than "skills".